Tenothrips keruing sp. n. is described from Malaysia. This new species was taken from the flowers of Dipterocarpus sublamellatus (local name Keruing kerut) during the recent mass-flowering. The male of this species has a pair of stout setae on abdominal tergite IX, and there are no sternal pore plates. A key to species of Tenothrips from Indomalaysia is provided.
This study aimed to determine the potential pollinating agents of Ixora coccinae and Ruellia simplex at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) campus based on the foraging activities of the flower visitors. The diurnal observations (0700 hr to 1800 hr) were conducted for a total of 144 hours and 96 hours for I. coccinae, for R. simplex respectively. The flower visitor activities (landing or hovering at the flowers) and the time spent at the flowers however were recorded for only the first 10 minutes of every hour between 0700 hr and 1000 hr for four days. A total of 383 flower visitations was recorded by 17 insect species and a bird species, the olive-backed sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis). For I. coccinae, the most common visitors were Apis cerana, Heterotrigona itama and Xylocopa confusa, in which all species were found to show only landing behaviour to forage at the flowers, and the time spent foraging at the flowers was not significantly different between the species (Kruskal-Wallis test, H = 1.323, df = 2, p = 0.055). For R. simplex, the most common visitors were A. cerana with 100% landing, and C. jugularis which recorded 80% landing and 20% hovering during their visits to the flowers. Between the two, A. cerana recorded significantly longer time spent at the flowers as compared to C. jugularis (Mann-Whitney test, U = 17.355, p < 0.001). Based on the visitation rate and feeding behaviour of the flower visitors, A. cerana, H. itama and X. confusa were the potential pollinating agents for I. coccinae while for R. simplex, A. cerana showed higher potential to be a pollinating agent as compared to C. jugularis. Therefore, this study highlighted the importance of recording the behaviour of each flower visitor to determine the relative contribution to the pollination success of the plant species visited.
Pink Antigonon leptopushave potential to be commercialized as cut flowers for flower arrangement. In order to determine cut inflorescences' vase life, vase solution treatments containing Artificial Tap Water as control, salicyclic acid (SA) at 100, 200, 300 mg/L and combination of 100, 200, 300 mg/L SA with 2% sucrose were conducted. Parameters observed were vase life, relative fresh weight (RFW), vase solution uptake (VSU), flower drop (FD), flower colour, relative water content (RWC) and pH. The results showed that cut inflorescences in vase treatment containing 200 mg/L SA + 2% sucrose and 300 mg/L + 2% sucrose had 1.6 fold longer vase life than the control, showing higher water uptake and reduced flower drop by 28%.
The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of spent mushroom compost of Pleurotus eous strain P-31 on the growth and yield performance of pepper and tomato seedlings under greenhouse conditions. Sandy loam soil was combined with different percentages of SMC to obtain the following combinations (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30) %. Lower concentrations SMC5, SMC10 and SMC15 promoted vegetative growth (plant height, leaf area, chlorophyll content, number of leaves and axillary branches) of the two test plants. Tomato seedlings grown in SMC10 recorded the highest plant height (50.3 ± 7.2cm); leaf area (378.8 ± 1.2cm2); number of floral buds (51) and flowers (28) whereas SMC5 recorded the highest chlorophyll content 34.1 ± 0.9CCI though SMC15 recorded the highest number of leaves (8). Tomato seedlings grown in SMC30 produced both the maximum number of fruits (8) with corresponding high weight (34.2 ± 7.7g). Pepper seedlings grown in lower concentrations (SMC5-15) recorded the highest plant heights (29.8-30.8cm), chlorophyll content (20.3CCI) and leaf area (53.5-66.2 cm2). Although the different combinations of sandy loam soil and SMC did not significantly (p ≥ 0.05) affect the number of axillary branches developed; different combinations significantly (p ≤ 0.05) affected the number of floral bud, flower and fruit, weight of fruits formed and value of each of these increased with increasing percentage of SMC. Pepper seedlings grown on SMC30 recorded the maximum number of floral buds (32.0 ± 3.6), number of flowers (19.4 ± 1.3), number of fruits (10.8 ± 1.2) and weight of fruits (31.9 ± 3.4g). Tomato seedlings raised on SMC100 (spent mushroom compost only) and soil only did not significantly (p ≥ 0.05) differ from each other however, was statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) from amended sandy loam soil by all criteria investigated. The study shows that SMC provide favourable soil conditioners for the cultivation of fruits, vegetables and foliage crops as it improved growth and yield of tomato and pepper seedlings.
Clitoria ternatea is a herbaceous plant with many health benefits. Extraction is crucial to obtain its bioactive components which contribute to its antioxidant properties. Therefore, this study was conducted to find an optimum extraction condition of C. ternatea flower on total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical-scavenging activity) as well as to determine its total flavonoid content (TFC) and anthocyanin content based on the optimum extraction condition generated by Response Surface Methodology (RSM)-Design Expert 7.1.5. TPC, TFC and total anthocyanin of C. ternatea were conducted by Folin Ciocalteu (FC), calorimetric assay and pH differential method, respectively. The ranges of selected independent variables were ethanol concentration (30°C-90% v/v), time (60-120 min) and temperature (30°C-70°C). The optimum extraction condition was obtained at 39.62% v/v ethanol concentration, 90 min and 44.24°C. However, these values were slightly adjusted according to the convenience of equipment to operate in which ethanol concentration was adjusted to 37% v/v, time remain at 90 min and temperature at 45°C. The predicted values of TPC and DPPH radical scavenging activity were 41.60 mg GAE/g dry samples and 68.12% inhibition and were experimentally verified to be 41.17 ± 0.5 mg GAE/g dry samples and 63.53 ± 0.95% inhibition of TPC and DPPH radical scavenging activity respectively. This result has showed RSM can optimise TPC and radical scavenging activity of C. ternatea. Upon the optimum condition, the TFC determined was 187.05 ± 3.18 mg quercetin/g dried sample which was higher than TPC and the total anthocyanin content was 28.60 ± 0.04 mg/L. Hence, the extractable phenolic, flavonoid and anthocyanin compounds indicated that C. ternatea is a good source of natural antioxidant.
Haemonchus contortus (Hc) is a hematophagous parasite affecting the health and productivity of flocks. The administration of chemical anthelmintic drugs (AH) is the common method of deworming; however, generates resistance in the parasites to AH and it is a public health risk due to drug residues in milk, meat and sub-products. Natural compounds from plants are explored to diminish this parasitosis, improving their health and productivity, without the negative effects of AH. Ipomoea genus is a group of climbing plants belonging to the Convulvulaceae family possessing perennial leaves and tuberous roots. Medicinal properties has been attributed to this plant including nutritional agents, emetics, diuretics, diaphoretics, purgatives and pesticides. The objective of this study was assessing the in vitro nematocidal activity of a hydroalcoholic extract (HA-E) obtained from Ipomoea pauciflora (Cazahuate) flowers against Hc infective larvae (L3) and to identify its phytochemical profile (PhC-P). The assay was carried out using microtiter plates (MTP). Four HA-E concentrations were assessed and Ivermectin and distilled water were used as positive and negative control groups, respectively. Approximately 100 Hc L3 were deposited in each well (n=12) and incubated at 25-35°C for 7 days. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and a General Linear Model (GLM) followed by Tukey test (P<0.05). The treatments showing a concentration-dependent effect (CDE) were analyzed to identify their 50% and 90% lethal concentrations (CL50, 90) via a Probit Analysis. The highest mortality was observed at 50 mg/mL (82.64 ± 0.71%) and the lowest at 6.25 mg/mL (56.46 ± 2.49%), showing a CDE with increasing mortality from 6.25 to 50 mg/mL. The PhC-P revealed the presence of alkaloids, coumarins, flavonoids, tannins and triterpenes/ sterols. A HA-E from flowers of I. pauciflora will be considered to assess its potential use in the control of haemonchosis in small ruminants.
Influences of irrigation frequency on the growth and flowering of chrysanthemum grown under restricted root volume were tested. Chrysanthemum cuttings (Chrysanthemum morifolium "Reagan White") were grown in seedling tray which contained coconut peat in volumes of 73 and 140 cm(3). Plants were irrigated with drip irrigation at irrigation frequencies of 4 (266 mL), 6 (400 mL), and 8 (533 mL) times/day to observe their growth and flowering performances. There was interaction between irrigation frequency and substrate volume on plant height of chrysanthemum. Plants grown in 140 cm(3) substrates and irrigated 6 times/day produced the tallest plant of 109.25 cm. Plants irrigated 6 and 8 times/day had significantly higher level of phosphorus content in their leaves than those plants irrigated 4 times/day. The total leaf area, number of internodes, leaf length, and leaf width of chrysanthemums grown in 140 cm(3) substrate were significantly higher than those grown in 73 cm(3) substrate. The numbers of flowers were affected by both irrigation frequencies and substrate volumes. Chrysanthemums irrigated 8 times/day had an average of 19.56 flowers while those irrigated 4 times/day had an average of 16.63 flowers. Increasing irrigation frequency can improve the growth and flowering of chrysanthemums in small substrate volumes.
Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) is one of the important species of Hibiscus cultivated for fiber. Availability of homozygous parent lines is prerequisite to the use of the heterosis effect reproducible in hybrid breeding. The production of haploid plants by anther culture followed by chromosome doubling can be achieved in short period compared with inbred lines by conventional method that requires self pollination of parent material. In this research, the effects of the microspore developmental stage, time of flower collection, various pretreatments, different combinations of hormones, and culture condition on anther culture of KB6 variety of Kenaf were studied. Young flower buds with immature anthers at the appropriate stage of microspore development were sterilized and the anthers were carefully dissected from the flower buds and subjected to various pretreatments and different combinations of hormones like NAA, 2,4-D, Kinetin, BAP, and TDZ to induce callus. The best microspore development stage of the flower buds was about 6-8 mm long collected 1-2 weeks after flower initiation. At that stage, the microspores were at the uninucleate stage which was suitable for culture. The best callus induction frequency was 90% in the optimized semisolid MS medium fortified with 3.0 mg/L BAP + 3.0 mg/L NAA.
Selected physiological and biochemical parameters were monitored at the vegetative and reproductive growth stages in potted Bougainvillea plants treated with five different concentrations of TRIA. Advanced flowering, flower bud number, and blooming rate increased significantly with 0.5 and 1.0 mg/L TRIA treatments. Similarly, photosynthetic rate, pigment content, quantum yield, and stomatal conductance increased significantly with 2.5, 1.0, and 5.0 mg/L TRIA treatments. Higher levels of N, P, and K, as well as increased total soluble solids (TSS) and higher sugar and protein contents, were recorded in treated plants. Furthermore, 46% more flowers, a 1.5-fold increase in bract weight, increased longevity, and 40% less leaf abscission were recorded following 2.5 mg/L TRIA treatment. Phenol and flavonoid contents, sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), and antioxidant activities were also markedly increased with 2.5 and 1.0 mg/L TRIA treatments. However, ethylene production was significantly lower in the treated plants. Positive correlations were observed between leaf TSS and flowering time and flower number, between leaf sugar content and bract weight, and between net photosynthesis and bract growth and dry matter production. It can be concluded that the foliar spray of TRIA stimulates growth, enhances flowering, and improves the quality of potted Bougainvillea plants.
Tissue culture studies of Celosia cristata were established from various explants and the effects of various hormones on morphogenesis of this species were examined. It was found that complete plant regeneration occurred at highest percentage on MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/L NAA and 1.5 mg/L BAP, with the best response showed by shoot explants. In vitro flowering was observed on MS basal medium after six weeks. The occurrence of somaclonal variation and changes in cellular behavior from in vivo and in vitro grown plants were investigated through cytological studies and image analysis. It was observed that Mitotic Index (MI), mean chromosome numbers, and mean nuclear to cell area ratio of in vitro root meristem cells were slightly higher compared to in vivo values. However, in vitro plants produced lower mean cell areas but higher nuclear areas when compared to in vivo plants. Thus, no occurrence of somaclonal variation was detected, and this was supported by morphological features of the in vitro plants.
The effect of leaf extracts of Psidium guajava and Piper betle on prolonging vase life of cut carnation flowers was studied. "Carola" and "Pallas Orange" carnation flowers, at bud stage, were pulsed 24 hours with a floral preservative. Then, flowers were placed in a vase solution containing sprite and a "germicide" (leaf extracts of P. guajava and P. betle, 8-HQC, or a copper coin). Flowers treated with 8-HQC, copper coin, and leaf extracts had longer vase life, larger flower diameter, and higher rate of water uptake compared to control (tap water). The leaf extracts of P. guajava and P. betle showed highest antibacterial and antifungal activities compared to the other treatments. Both showed similar effects on flower quality as the synthetic germicide, 8-HQC. Therefore, these extracts are likely natural germicides to prolong vase life of cut flowers.
The experiments were carried out in two research stations (MARDI Bukit Tangga, Kedah, and MARDI Seberang Perai, Penang) in Malaysia. The crossings were performed using the four inbred lines in complete diallel cross including selfs and reciprocals. We evaluated the yield components and fruit characters such as fruit yield per plant, vine length, days to fruit maturity, fruit weight, total soluble solid content, and rind thickness over a period of two planting seasons. General combining ability and its interaction with locations were statistically significant for all characteristics except number of fruits per plant across the environments. Results indicated that the additive genetic effects were important to the inheritance of these traits and the expression of additive genes was influenced greatly by environments. In addition, specific combining ability effect was statistically evident for fruit yield per plant, vine length, days to first female flower, and fruit weight. Most of the characters are simultaneously controlled by additive and nonadditive gene effects. This study demonstrated that the highest potential and promising among the crosses was cross P2 (BL-14) × P3 (6372-4), which possessed prolific plants, with early maturity, medium fruit weight and high soluble solid contents. Therefore this hybrid might be utilized for developing high yielding watermelon cultivars and may be recommended for commercial cultivation.
The widely held explanation for photoperiod-controlled flowering in long-day plants is largely embodied in the External Coincidence Hypothesis which posits that flowering is induced when activity of a rhythmic gene that regulates it (a putative "flowering gene") occurs in the presence of light. Nevertheless, re-examination of the Arabidopsis flowering data from non 24-hour cycles of Roden et al. suggests that External Coincidence is not tenable if the circadian rhythm of the "flowering gene" were entrained to sunrise as commonly accepted. On the other hand, the hypothesis is supported if circadian cycling of the gene conforms to a solar rhythm, and its entrainment is to midnight on the solar clock. Data available point to flowering being induced by the gene which peaks in its expression between 16 to 19 h after midnight. In the normal 24 h cycle, that would be between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., regardless of the photoperiod. Such timing of the "flowering gene" expression allows for variable coincidence between gene activity and light, depending on the photoperiod and cycle period. A correlation is found between earliness of flowering and the degree of coincidence of "flowering gene" expression with light (r = 0.88, p<0.01).
The aim of this study was to identify the major allergens of wildflower honey in local patients with atopic disease. SDS-PAGE revealed ten protein bands of 25 to 110 kDa, with a heavy cluster in region of 40-75 kDa. Immunoblotting demonstrated seven IgE-binding bands of 39 to 110 kDa. The 60 kDa protein had the highest frequency of IgE-binding (100%) followed by 54 kDa protein (95%), thus identified as the major allergens of wildflowerhoney. Our findings indicate that the allergen extract used for diagnosis of honey allergy contains both the 54 kDa and 60 kDa proteins.
Nigella sativa (Black seeds) has been recognized as one of the most popular herbs in many
parts of the world for centuries. It was used in the world as folk medicine to cure different kinds of diseases. This plant has been considered as one of the main sources of nutrition and healthcare for humans as well as animals. It has been perceived as Kalonji; it is a southwest Asian plan t that flowers annually. The seeds and oil of this plant have been used in food; in addition, it has a long history in the making of medicines. In addition to its being a model plant for better realization of gene and chromosome relationship, the plant species is also significant cytogenetically. Plant based system has not been absorbed fully for human health care despite the remarkable advancements in the field of pharmacology. Cumin, as one of the medicinal plants gifted to humans by nature, has a number of potential uses. It has been proved to be a
useful herbal medicines that can be used for human health and therefore has been extensively studied and investigated to further discover the advantages of this plant.
How tropical trees flower synchronously near the equator in the absence of significant day length variation or other meteorological cues has long been a puzzle. The rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) is used as a model to investigate this phenomenon. The annual cycle of solar radiation intensity is shown to correspond closely with the flowering of the rubber tree planted near the equator and in the subtropics. Unlike in temperate regions, where incoming solar radiation (insolation) is dependent on both day length and radiation intensity, insolation at the equator is due entirely to the latter. Insolation at the upper atmosphere peaks twice a year during the spring and autumn equinoxes, but the actual solar radiation that reaches the ground is attenuated to varying extents in different localities. The rubber tree shows one or two flowering seasons a year (with major and minor seasons in the latter) in accordance with the solar radiation intensity received. High solar radiation intensity, and in particular bright sunshine (as distinct from prolonged diffuse radiation), induces synchronous anthesis and blooming in Hevea around the time of the equinoxes. The same mechanism may be operational in other tropical tree species.
We evaluated the activity of methanolic extracts of Melaleuca cajuputi flowers against the filarial worm Brugia pahangi and its bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia. Anti-Wolbachia activity was measured in worms and in Aedes albopictus Aa23 cells by PCR, electron microscopy, and other biological assays. In particular, microfilarial release, worm motility, and viability were determined. M. cajuputi flower extracts were found to significantly reduce Wolbachia endosymbionts in Aa23 cells, Wolbachia surface protein, and microfilarial release, as well as the viability and motility of adult worms. Anti-Wolbachia activity was further confirmed by observation of degraded and phagocytized Wolbachia in worms treated with the flower extracts. The data provided in vitro and in vivo evidence that M. cajuputi flower extracts inhibit Wolbachia, an activity that may be exploited as an alternative strategy to treat human lymphatic filariasis.
Lead is known to disrupt the biological systems by altering the molecular interactions, cell signaling, and cellular function. Exposure to even low levels of lead may have potential hazardous effects on brain, liver, kidneys and testes. The efficacy of Etlingera elatior (torch ginger) to protect hepatotoxicity induced by lead acetate was evaluated experimentally in male Sprague - Dawley rats. Rats were exposed to lead acetate in drinking water (500 ppm) for 21 days and the effects of concurrent treatment with extract of E. elatior on hepatic lipid hydroperoxides (LPO), protein carbonyl content (PCC), total antioxidants (TA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and glutathione S- Transferase (GST) levels and histopathological changes in liver were evaluated. There was a significant decrease in TA and other antioxidant enzymes (p < 0.05) and increase in LPO and PCC (p < 0.05) with lead acetate ingestion. Concurrent treatment with E. elatior extract significantly reduced the LPO and PCC (p < 0.05) in serum and increased the antioxidant enzyme levels (p < 0.05) in the liver. Significant histopathological changes were seen in hepatic tissue with chronic lead ingestion. Treatment with E. elatior significantly reduced these lead-induced changes in hepatic architecture. E. elatior has also reduced the blood lead levels (BLL). Thus, there has been extensive biochemical and structural alterations indicative of liver toxicity with exposure to lead and E. elatior treatment significantly reduced these oxidative damage. Our results suggest that E. elatior has a powerful antioxidant effect against lead-induced hepatotoxicity.
In this study, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was exploited for non-destructive determination of theanine content of oolong tea. The NIR spectral data (400-2500 nm) were correlated with the theanine level of 161 tea samples using partial least squares regression (PLSR) with different wavelengths selection methods, including the regression coefficient-based selection, uninformative variable elimination, variable importance in projection, selectivity ratio and flower pollination algorithm (FPA). The potential of using the FPA to select the discriminative wavelengths for PLSR was examined for the first time. The analysis showed that the PLSR with FPA method achieved better predictive results than the PLSR with full spectrum (PLSR-full). The developed simplified model using on FPA based on 12 latent variables and 89 selected wavelengths produced R-squared (R2) value and root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.9542, 0.8794 and 0.2045, 0.3219 for calibration and prediction, respectively. For PLSR-full, the R2 values of 0.9068, 0.8412 and RMSEs of 0.2916, 0.3693, were achieved for calibration and prediction. Also, the optimized model using FPA outperformed other wavelengths selection methods considered in this study. The obtained results indicated the feasibility of FPA to improve the predictability of the PLSR and reduce the model complexity. The nonlinear regression models of support vector machine regression and Gaussian process regression (GPR) were further utilized to evaluate the superiority of using the FPA in the wavelength selection. The results demonstrated that utilizing the wavelength selection method of FPA and nonlinear regression model of GPR could improve the predictive performance.